FORTUNE -- At JPMorgan Chase's annual investor day on Tuesday, CEO Jamie Dimon answered one analyst's question by saying, "That's why I'm richer than you."
Zing. The line got a bunch of laughs. And it quickly became a headline for articles recounting the Q and lack of A between Dimon and the Credit Agricole analyst Mike Mayo, who has the reputation of being one of the few analysts to be tough on Wall Street CEOs.
But what did Dimon mean by it? Mayo's question was about bank capital. European regulators are requiring banks there to hold more capital than U.S. rivals. Mayo wanted to know if that would give those banks, in this case UBS, an advantage over JPMorgan (JPM) in attracting clients who want a safe place for their money.
- See more at: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/27/jamie-dimon-richer-than-you/?iid=HP_River#sthash.H4Wa3m5W.na7qhxdm.dpufhttp://news.firedoglake.com/2013/02/28/jamie-dimon-thats-why-im-richer-than-you/ At a J.P. Morgan investor event this week Mike Mayo, an analyst at CLSA, who has been a critic of large banks and, at times, Dimon, asked if J.P. Morgan wasn’t at a competitive disadvantage compared to more highly capitalized peers.
Mayo: I think what I hear UBS saying in the presentation is that if I’m an affluent customer I’ll feel a lot better going to UBS if they have 13.5 (percent) capital ratio than another big bank with a 10 percent ratio. Do you agree with that?
Dimon: You would go to UBS and not JPMorgan?
Mayo: I didn’t say that. That’s their argument.
Dimon: That’s why I’m richer than you.
